Mr Yeung:
We haven't quite worked
worked this out yet because it depends, finally, on the Provisional Airport Authority giving us a firm business plan, planning its operations ahead. And it is on the basis of that, plus a view being taken on how much it can borrow. And, of course, all this is subject to studies, a whole series of studies, and sensitivity tests. We can then, finally determine which part of its financial requirements will be covered by equity and which covered by loans. It will be in the order of billions of dollars, I can say that, but I can't imagine it running into 30-odd billion dollars.
Question 5: (asked in Chinese and reply repeated in English)
Mr Leung:
I was just describing the main progress and the target dates for the transport component parts of PADS.
We will
Clearly, the first one is the Lantau Fixed Crossing. be able, we hope to issue tender documents by the end of this month on the bridge and we hope to have the returns within about four and a half months and then start the assessments of the bids. Within that timetable we need to look at and assess the bids and then we hope to finalise them for Exco approval and start the construction by April/May of '92.
The construction will take about five years, at the most. That will allow sufficient time for contingencies and so on. So that will be a fairly comfortable time period to finish that, or maybe a bit earlier.
The other component part is the Airport Railway. We will be starting negotiations with the MTRC fairly soon and we hope to finalise an agreement with the MTRC by the end of this year and then seek the Governor-In-Council's approval on the final package, and the financing of the railway, and then hand over this project to the MTRC to finance and construct and manage.
or
as
Again, the timetable is within that period. Hopefully, when the airport opens it will be ready with a railway serving it, soon as possible.
The third component part is the Route Three, and the West We Kowloon Expressway, which are now in the detailed design stage. hope to start construction, again, by next year, all finishing by the end of '96 or beginning of '97.
And, finally, we have the Western Harbour Crossing, which is a privatisation project like the Tate's Cairn Tunnel and the other two tunnels, the cross-harbour tunnels. We are now starting the financial study on this tunnel and we hope to have the contract and the bidding and the franchise let in the course of next year. They will then have about four years to build that particular cross-harbour tunnel. That will be finishing by the end of 1996.
So, all these projects will be in time, within the target date of the first part of 1997 in time for
1997 in time for the airport to
the airport to be served by these transport links.
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